Importance of Having an Adoptee Support Group

Importance of Having an Adoptee Support Group

When I was younger I didn’t realize what a benefit it was to know and be friends with fellow Korean Adoptees. I’m not saying they have to be your best friends, but it’s good to have a few adoptees you can confide in. Having fellow adoptees is such a good support system, which I believe is crucial for your well-being in the long run.

I have pretty much always had a Korean adoptee support system my entire life. I started going to Korean adoptee culture camp when I was six years old and am still friends with someone I met that year. Shoutout to Jonathan! It helped to know there were other people just like me who faced similar issues, insecurities, and challenges. Since those culture camps I have kept in touch with a number of adoptees, but have also met countless others through birthland tours and local Korean adoptee groups. That’s a little background of my support system, now why is it important?

I believe that all adoptees deal with certain issues such as trust and abandonment, but that’s a topic for another day. There are very few people who know how we truly feel, but know who does? Ourselves. When I want to discuss issues like abandonment I know I can talk to one of my Korean adoptee friends because they know to a degree how I am feeling. I don’t have to explain it to them, but simply talk about what’s bothering me. Being able to just simply talk about such things is such a tremendous help in of itself.

Now you might be thinking, “that’s great for you… but I don’t have that support system and confidant to talk to…” that’s okay, I have some resources for you! You could always hit me up. I have no problems talking about my adoption experience and theories about adoption and associated issues. If you don’t want to do that Facebook is another great resource. You should be able to find a local Adoptee group that meets. For Korean Adoptees there are many local groups such as Adoption Links DC (ADLC) and countless national/regional facebook groups. There also is Adoptees from Asia (AFA) facebook group that is for adoptees from all over Asia.

However, I need to give you a word of caution. There can be lots of drama from Korean Adoptee Facebook groups, so keep that in mind! Be careful and you should be alright and find kindred spirits that can become your support group! I hope you learned something from this post! Until next time.